It continues to blow our minds seeing so many business websites have the same featured mistake as others. The mistake in question? They haven’t been updated in terms of security—nor is maintenance regularly performed. And then people wonder why things go wrong after the fact!
This list we are going to share with you is really the stuff of nightmares for all business owners, especially if you don’t invest in beefing up your website’s security or updating it regularly. You’re more at risk of encountering these problems if you’re not already signed up with one of our WP Care + Maintenance Plans. Without further ado, here are the risks your company makes when you don’t make that kind of an investment.
Hacks.
If this is already making your skin crawl, we’re only just getting started. Hackers are smart enough to understand the key weaknesses in every business’s website, even if you don’t think your business is large enough to be worth caring about. It’s for that reason alone that makes small businesses one of the most heavily attacked targets by hackers.
By failing to update and maintain the site’s security, your small business can lose all of the privacy and sensitive information you needed to succeed in just one hack. Not only is your data specifically targeted by these hacks, but also the data belonging to your staff and, worst of all, your customers.
Phishing attacks.
These types of attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and increasingly damaging to business websites across the globe. They usually take the form of a text message, email, or instant message from an assumingly trustworthy entity, requesting that you click on a link. Doing so however will only result in disaster! What happens next is that the user data such as for credit cards and login credentials are in fact stolen by the would-be trustworthy entity. What’s most dangerous about these attacks is that these can happen anywhere—even on social media sites.
Ransomware.
Yep, we mean the big scary ‘R’ word that causes many a business owner to toss and turn at night. Ransomware is terrifying for a good reason, because it holds your most valuable data ransom after it encrypts it and demands you pay a fee to decrypt and release the data. If the payment is not sent, it doubles, and after a week the data is deleted.
An online reputation damaged beyond repair.
As the saying goes, “Don’t shut the stable door after the horse has bolted,” meaning if your site isn’t secure and a cyberattack has already taken place, it’s too late. Your customers may have already suffered on behalf of your website, and they will no longer trust you even if you make a new and more secure website after the incident has taken place. That’s why your website needs to be secure in the first place; a successful business cannot last in the long-term online (or even offline) without that sense of trust from its customers. If you break that trust before your business is even off of the ground, it’s time to say goodbye to your business period.
This is only a handful of the disasters your business may face. Don’t take the risk of letting these risks anywhere near your website! That’s why it’s a great idea to get your business’s site maintained and updated. This is only one step forward to achieving a great website, however. You should also be aware of the many signs of a cyber threat, which you can read about here for prevention’s sake.
Sometimes though, neither of these is enough. Maintenance can go a long way, but if you’re still relying on a website that hasn’t been updated in years (we’re talking up to and over 10 years, at least), then your site may still be vulnerable to any and all of these risks we’ve outlined.
Don’t take the risk. Give us a call at V3 Media and we can ensure your business’s website is secure, up to date, maintained regularly, and above all, risk-free.